Tuesday, June 1, 2010

How many sheep can you get in a Mazda

TWO New Zealand men caught with 14 stolen sheep stuffed inside a car have been charged with animal abuse.

Police said the pair, aged 23 and 16, from Hastings on the nation's North Island, were accompanied by two sheep rustlers who fled the scene when their getaway car was stopped by officers, the New Zealand Herald reported today.

Senior Sergeant Eden Sewell told the newspaper that the sheep were distressed and had been bound by the legs.

Two of the animals, which were believed to have been stolen from nearby farms, died as a result of the stifling conditions in the car, a four-door Mazda sedan.

Snr-Sgt Sewell described the treatment of the sheep as a "disgusting and an unnecessary act of cruelty".

The two men who were arrested will appear in court on Thursday, while police continue to hunt for their alleged co-offenders.